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Our Socio-economic Footprint

Our True Value of Retail Report shares our socio-economic footprint with stakeholders. It was launched in early 2017 with events in Bristol, Leeds and Dublin. The findings of the report highlight the sheer scale of the impact that our retail destinations are having on the local economy and community, and their combined significance for the national economy. They also present us with clear asset specific and group wide baselines from which to measure our performance as we head towards being Net Positive for socio-economic impacts by 2030.

Stakeholders from Bristol joined us as we shared key findings for the Hammerson Group, and showcased headline data for the city of Bristol.

Key Findings of the research 

Here we share a few of our Group Wide headline impacts.  

For more please download our True Value of Retail: Our Socio-economic Footprint report.

  • 40,000 full-time jobs created across Hammerson’s portfolio of retail destinations, with a combined annual wage bill of £800m
  • Local residents secure 82% of retail jobs, with almost half (48%) of those under the age of 25
  • £40 million invested annually by retailers in skills and training for employees
  • £300 million in taxes and national insurance contributions generated by employment through Hammerson’s portfolio
  • Business rates from our UK shopping centres and retail parks currently contribute £250 million to the public purse
  • Estimated £7 million of yearly cost savings to Government from reduced unemployment benefits and related costs through job creation
 
Asset Specific Footprints

We have also produced footprints for each of our assets.  For Bristol, Leeds and Ireland we have created case study books that share some of the headlines from those footprints and take a look at some of the projects helping to deliver positive impacts.

See more or download our Socio-economic Footprint for Bristol

See more or download our Socio-economic Footprint for Leeds

See more of Download our Socio-economic Footprint for Ireland

Our Socio-economic film

We also presented the fourth video in our series of short films showcasing Net Positive and activity across the Hammerson group.  We hope you enjoy.  Please see the other films in our series on our Mini Film Series page. 

More on the Research

We found there are major areas of impact from a Hammerson destination including: 

Supporting local economies

Regional retail destinations can play a central role in growing local economies and their impact on communities is widespread. The report demonstrates that our current portfolio provides full-time jobs for over 40,000 people. Importantly, over 80% of retail jobs across our assets go to local residents and these jobs generate more than £800 million in wages.

Supporting retail as a career

Our shopping destinations act as incubators of talent; retailers across Hammerson’s portfolio invest an estimated £40 million annually in training their staff. With almost half of retail jobs employing under-25s, Hammerson’s retail destinations play a valuable role in skills development for young people. And with management roles accounting for almost a fifth (19%) of retail jobs, there are multiple opportunities for young people to develop their skills and enjoy a long and rewarding career in retail. 

Following the opening of our new shopping destination, Victoria Gate in Leeds, 75% of retail staff employed at the scheme are from the local area, including 534 previously unemployed people supported into work through bespoke skills and training programmes.

Supporting the national economy

The retail industry is an important generator of income for the exchequer, both directly and indirectly. At a national level our assets deliver over £300 million in employment taxes. Business rates from our UK shopping centres and retail parks contribute an additional £250 million to local authorities.

Calculations within the research show that the annual saving to Government in reduced unemployment benefits for people employed at Hammerson’s assets who were previously unemployed is approximately £7 million annually. This includes savings both from the immediate impact of moving an individual from unemployment into work, but also from reducing the chance of a young person entering long term unemployment again later in life.

Our Research Partners

The research, undertaken by JLL and Envoy Partnership, is based on comprehensive data collected from across Hammerson’s portfolio and expands on the findings of Hammerson’s 2013 report, “True Value of Shopping Centres”. The report provides a toolkit to understand and measure the socio-economic contributions of the Group’s European assets and developments, both today and over the lifetime of each centre.  It sets the baseline to measure future progress for our target to be net positive for socio-econonic impacts by 2030.